Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
In various environments, items may need to be tracked as the items or monitoring cameras used in tracking the items move. For example, in manufacturing environments, a wide variety of parts may need to be identified and tracked as they move on assembly bands and are processed (for example, assembled, tested, or otherwise treated) by robotic equipment. Robotic equipment is typically more precise, faster, and cost-effective compared to human counterparts in performing repetitive tasks or operations that require precision. However, while a human can easily identify a part and place it in a proper position for the task at hand, a robot may not be able to identify the same part if it is not in a precisely selected position or there are variations from part to part. Providing the preciseness in part selection and positioning prior to processing by the robotic equipment may result in increased cost and delays. For example, special positioning mechanisms may have to be installed for each robotic equipment in an assembly band that includes a number of robotic stations.
Detecting an item based on its features may not be adequate for robotic processing environments. Tracking the item through one or more environments may also be needed. In many environments, lighting conditions may change throughout the day or as people and other machines move around. Thus, current detection and tracking methods and the implementation thereof could use improvements and/or alternative or additional solutions in order to provide and promote reliable item tracking.